Double Density Along West 2nd Among Changes For I-1 Zone

The City of Vancouver is proposing changes to the I-1 Zoning in Mt. Pleasant as part of a “quick start action” under a broader Employment Lands and Economy Review.

Allowing Medical Office Use in I-1

The first proposed change is to add ‘Health Care Office’ as a conditionally permitted use in the I-1 zone in response to a request from the development
industry who have identified Mount Pleasant as an attractive location for medical offices at the relative mid-point between VGH and the future new St. Paul’s Hospital. This amendment is mainly intended for Mount Pleasant, but also introduces this use to one block of I-1 at the southwest corner of 6th Avenue and Clark Drive.

New I-1C Zone Along South Side of West 2nd Avenue

The second and potentially more major proposed change is increased heights and densities along the South side of West 2nd Avenue via a new zone called I-1C. The new zoning would apply to 32 individual land parcels that would be consolidated into approximately 9 or 10 developments.

Details of the proposed new zone include:

• Allow double the density from 3 to 6 FSR (as long as a full 2 FSR is dedicated to light industrial uses such as production, distribution and repair);
• Maintain the same use provisions as the I-1 industrial zone, except that mini-storage and other low-intensity uses are not permitted;
• Allow a maximum height for up to 152.5 ft. to reflect the form and scale of SEFC across the street to the north and balance the 2nd Avenue streetscape;
• Limit shadowing on the north sidewalk of 2nd Avenue and secure a 5 ft. dedication along 2nd Avenue for public realm improvements including wider sidewalks;
• Introduce building setbacks above 4-storeys to ensure that new higher buildings are sculpted to relate to lower buildings;
• Permit a variety of new building forms, including terraced, tower and childcare forms.
• For developments proposing leasehold developments, the City will apply the commercial linkage target for non-stratified commercial development.
• For developments proposing strata, a negotiated CAC approach will be required to estimate the additional value that Council’s enactment of a rezoning would generate above the current land value.

The City estimates that the 32 individual parcels in the subject area could consolidate into approximately 9-10 rezoning projects in the proposed I-1C rezoning area.

As a result, redevelopment could help deliver
approximately:

• 1.07 million sq. ft. of new job space over the present condition;
• 685 thousand sq. ft. of job space above current zoned capacity;
• 3,500+ new jobs; and
• $7.2 million in public benefits (based on commercial linkage targets as described above) or more if developments are stratified.

The full City of Vancouver report can be viewed here: https://council.vancouver.ca/20201124/documents/rr1b.pdf